Hollywood loves to say "based on a true story," but sometimes that's quite a stretch! Join us as we explore films that took major liberties with the facts they claimed to portray. From mathematical geniuses to rock legends, these movies rewrote history for the sake of entertainment. Which film's creative license surprised you most?
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Short filmTranscript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at true story films that were nothing like
00:07the actual true story.
00:09These are not necessarily ranked by being the least accurate, but rather the ones that
00:12ran wild with their creative license for the sake of drama.
00:23The Imitation Game
00:24Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as famed mathematician Alan Turing, The Imitation Game tells the
00:28story of his life, in particular as a codebreaker in World War II.
00:32Despite being a huge critical and financial success, not everyone was pleased with the
00:37film.
00:38The Guardian even referred to it as slanderous.
00:50Events from Turing's personal life, from his childhood till his death, were vastly
00:54changed.
00:55Betrayal as an antisocial loner also is at odds with what we know about the real man.
01:11While persecution against his sexuality did lead to his tragic fate, the film adds a flashier
01:15backstory with Turing suspected of being a Soviet spy.
01:18This is, of course, pure fiction.
01:29The Blindside
01:30Telling the inspiring true story of linebacker Michael Orr's tumultuous upbringing, The
01:34Blindside was released the same year he was selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
01:48The film chronicles him being taken in by his adoptive family.
01:51The Twoies help him escape from his impoverished lifestyle, turning his grades and life around
01:55by stepping onto the football field.
02:00However, many elements of the film have been questioned as playing into unfortunate white
02:11savior tropes, with the white family coming to the rescue of a silent, docile black child.
02:17Orr himself voiced his dissatisfaction with the film's portrayal of his intelligence,
02:21iterating that numerous elements, including his understanding of football, were dumbed
02:24down for the story.
02:36The Conjuring
02:44Heavily marketed as being based on a true story, the film follows a pair of demonologists
02:49and authors, the Warrens.
02:51Like its many sequels and spinoffs, The Conjuring depicts them as brave paranormal investigators.
02:56In it, Lorraine Warren possesses clairvoyant abilities that they use to save innocents
03:00from malevolent forces with support from her loving husband, Ed.
03:12The real portrait of the Warrens is less rosy, as they are seen by many as being nothing
03:16more than frauds and opportunists.
03:18With Ed allegedly engaging in an extramarital affair, many of the paranormal cases that
03:22propelled them to fame have been thoroughly debunked, with the Warrens seemingly making
03:26things up to tell a good story.
03:34Argo
03:42Telling the gripping true story of rescuing six diplomats during the Iran hostage crisis,
03:47Argo won near-universal acclaim, taking home three Oscars, including Best Picture.
03:52Throughout the film, the diplomats face capture and danger at every turn, culminating with
03:57a thrilling escape where they are almost caught boarding a plane to literally fly them to
04:00freedom.
04:05However, as thrilling as those events made the film, most of them were hugely exaggerated
04:19or flat-out invented to provide drama.
04:21While the situation was dire, the imminent danger to the group was a product of dramatic
04:25license.
04:26Most notably, the heart-pounding finale where the plane is chased down the runway by armed
04:30gunmen never took place at all.
04:43Catch Me If You Can
04:45Based on his autobiography of the same name, Catch Me If You Can portrayed Frank Abagnale
04:49Jr. as a cunning conman who used his lies and tricks for massive financial gain.
04:54As portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio, Abagnale uses his unique skill for deception to con
04:59his way into jobs as a doctor, lawyer, and pilot.
05:09He even worked for the FBI after they successfully caught him.
05:12As it turns out, however, the real Abagnale's biggest con was getting people to believe
05:16any of this actually happened.
05:28Much of the book, and subsequently the film adaptation, were lies told to tell a good
05:32story.
05:33Guess we should have known.
05:44The Greatest Showman
05:46Highly fictionalized doesn't even begin to describe the way that this musical biopic
05:50depicts its subject, P.T.
05:52Barnum.
06:03Certain elements from the famous circus founder's life are present in the film, but the Hugh
06:07Jackman character bears little resemblance to his historical counterpart.
06:10Far from the magnanimous charmer he was in the film, the real Barnum has been accused
06:14of being a cruel racist who abused animals and took advantage of people.
06:26The film's main love story, involving characters played by Zac Efron and Zendaya, was entirely
06:31created for the film.
06:32As the characters never even existed, the real story likely would have made for a much
06:36less entertaining musical, or at the very least, a much more depressing one.
06:50Bohemian Rhapsody
06:51Musical biopics tend to follow the same formula, more or less.
07:02This film, following Queen, is no exception.
07:05That meant certain beats had to be hit at specific points in the film, shuffling around
07:08dates of key events and amping up the interpersonal drama between members of the band.
07:23While the finale, showing the band reuniting to play the Live Aid concert after learning
07:27of Freddie Mercury's AIDS diagnosis, was a powerful climax, it was hardly accurate.
07:31The band weren't last-minute replacements, rather, they'd always meant to play the
07:35benefit show.
07:48Mercury wouldn't be diagnosed with AIDS until two years later, and wouldn't tell
07:52his bandmates for a further two years.
07:54The Social Network
08:05Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin and director David Fincher weren't nearly as interested in
08:08giving an accurate depiction of Facebook's founding, as they weren't telling a story
08:12about greed and male loneliness.
08:14While nearly every major person portrayed in the film has come out to decry the way
08:18they were represented, the film hits on a few more universal truths.
08:34Sorkin even admitted to having little interest in Facebook, but was drawn to the project
08:38as it was a way for him to tackle themes including friendship, loyalty, jealousy, class, and
08:43power.
08:44Over the years, the film has only grown in renown and cultural importance.
08:58Marie Antoinette
08:59Occasionally, films are anachronistic, not for convenience's sake, or by accident,
09:03but intentionally to make a point.
09:11This is exactly what director Sofia Coppola and star Kirsten Dunst did with their depiction
09:16of the titular 18th century monarch.
09:18In the film, Marie Antoinette seems less like a French aristocrat and more like a modern
09:23American teen.
09:35Coppola would later note how she had intentionally stylized the film and characters to make them
09:40more human and relatable.
09:42Those intentional anachronisms even carried over to other aspects of the film, including
09:45famously the modern pop song, I Want Candy, playing in a shot where a pair of converse
09:50shoes were seen.
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10:18Braveheart
10:30Most of what we know about the near-legendary warrior who fought for Scottish independence,
10:34Sir William Wallace, was ignored by Braveheart's star-slash-director Mel Gibson.
10:38The film's interpretation of Wallace draws heavily from a less-than-accurate historical
10:42poem, with plenty of 90s Hollywood action diluting the accuracy further for good measure.
10:53Of course, Wallace wasn't the only inaccurate thing in the film, as other characters, military
10:58campaigns, and even fashion were completely off.
11:01As one historian put it, the war of pain was a thousand years too late, while the kills
11:05were five hundred too early, none of that stopped the film from being a colossal box
11:17office success and taking home Best Picture, proving that maybe, accuracy doesn't matter.
11:22Which movie got the most wrong?
11:24Let us know in the comments below.